Selection of human single domain antibodies (sdAb) against thymidine kinase 1 and their incorporation into sdAb-Fc antibody constructs for potential use in cancer therapy.

Thymidine Kinase 1 (TK1) is primarily known as a cancer biomarker with good prognostic capabilities for both hematological and solid malignancies. However, recent studies targeting TK1 at protein and mRNA levels have shown that TK1 may be useful as a therapeutic target. In order to examine the use of TK1 as a therapeutic target, it is necessary to develop therapeutics specific for it.

Novel monoclonal antibodies against thymidine kinase 1 and their potential use for the immunotargeting of lung, breast and colon cancer cells.

Background: Thymidine kinase 1 (TK1) is a pyrimidine salvage pathway enzyme that is up-regulated in malignant tissues and elevated in the serum of cancer patients. While TK1 has been well established as a tumor biomarker, little has been done to explore its potential as a tumor target. Recently, we reported the membrane expression of TK1 on malignant cells, but not on normal cells.

Correction to: Membrane expression of thymidine kinase 1 and potential clinical relevance in lung, breast, and colorectal malignancies.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s12935-018-0633-9.].

Membrane expression of thymidine kinase 1 and potential clinical relevance in lung, breast, and colorectal malignancies.

Background: Lung, breast, and colorectal malignancies are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world causing over 2.8 million cancer-related deaths yearly. Despite efforts to improve prevention methods, early detection, and treatments, survival rates for advanced stage lung, breast, and colon cancer remain low, indicating a critical need to identify cancer-specific biomarkers for early detection and treatment.

Biomarker analysis and clinical relevance of TK1 on the cell membrane of Burkitt's lymphoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

TK1 is an enzyme involved in DNA synthesis and repair. TK1 is usually found elevated in cancer patients' serum, which makes it a useful tumor proliferation biomarker that strongly correlates with cancer stage, metastatic capabilities, and recurrence risk. In this study, we show that TK1 is upregulated and localizes on the plasma membrane of Burkitt's lymphoma, acute promyelocytic leukemia, T cell leukemia, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Non-small-cell lung cancer cell lines A549 and NCI-H460 express hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase on the plasma membrane.

In both males and females, lung cancer is one of the most lethal cancers worldwide and accounts for >30% of cancer-related deaths. Despite advances in biomarker analysis and tumor characterization, there remains a need to find suitable biomarker antigen targets for treatment in late-stage lung cancer. Previous research on the salvage pathway enzyme TK1 shows a unique relationship with cancer patients as serum levels are raised according to cancer grade.